Two days had passed since the success of your first mission. It is early in the morning, and you are still sleeping.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*. The knocking sound on your door wakes you up from your slumber.
"Who is it!?", you say, replying to the knocking.
"It's me", a voice says, "Charlotte."
You stand up, yawning, then walk towards the door and open it.
You see Charlotte, already dressed in her uniform and holding a brown pouch. She hands the pouch over to you, telling you not to spend it all in one go.
"What is it?", you ask.
"Can't you tell?", she replies.
You open the pouch and see a pile of coins which were stacked up to the top of the pouch.
"Is this my p-pay?", you ask.
"Yes it is", Charlotte replies. "I also added a little extra for the amazing job you did."
You couldn't believe that all of this was yours - especially just for one mission. Charlotte couldn't help but smile at your innocent reaction.
She then told you that she had a mission to get to, and that you should rest a little, even though you had already been resting and doing nothing for the last 2 days.
"Is Daisy around?", you ask.
"Yes", Charlotte replies. "She should be in the hall."
Charlotte eventually leaves and you wave at her, wishing her good luck on her mission.
You quickly brush your teeth, take a shower and get dressed, before making your way to the hall.
On your way, you bump into Sol who questions where your going so early in the morning. You tell her that your going to train, to which she replies with a disappointed expression and says, "Ah, I see."
She leaves you to go train, which you do.
You arrive at the hall and see Daisy quietly training by herself. Once she notices you, she quickly makes her way over to you and says, "Oh, so you didn't give up on sword training?"
"Huh", you reply. "Why would I give up?"
"Don't ask me", she says. "You're the one who was absent for 2 days."
You laugh it off as there was nothing you could reply with.
"Could we start training again?", you ask.
Daisy smiles in satisfaction and says, "No training today! We're gonna do some theory and get you up to date with the basics."
She tells you to sit down, so you sit down.
"Listen up and listen good!", she says. "The most important thing to learn when your sword fighting are stances. They can help bolster ones attack or defence."
Daisy begins to show you multiple different stances.
"As you can see, each stance is unique in it's own way."
You find a piece of paper and a pen and begin noting down what she is saying.
"Now", she says, "There are many different default stances like the ones I showed. Most swordsmen use default stances as they are usually the most effective or easy to learn. However, a handful of swordsmen choose to adapt some of the stances, or even create one of their own to best suit their fighting style."
You continue noting the information you're hearing.
"You should also know that most swordsmen don't stick to only using one stance. The stance you use is entirely dependent on the length of both you and your opponent's blades, the number of blades both you and your opponent are wielding, the hand you're using your blade with, your surroundings, the body build of both you and your opponent, and the stance your opponent is using. In a fight, it's best to use a stance which counters that of your opponent's, so learning the default stances would be beneficial. Did you get all of that?"
You don't reply as you're busy writing. Daisy soon notices that you're writing and asks what you're doing.
"Oh", you say. "I was wri-".
Daisy snatches your paper away and rips it to bits.
"Writing it down won't help you at all", she says. "If you can't remember this then there's no point, and you should probably quit using a sword."
You watch in horror as your notes fall to the floor in bits. You weren't a total idiot, however, and did manage to remember most of what she was saying.
"Now as I was saying", Daisy says, "it is really important that you try to learn the default stances."
Daisy pauses for a while, then says, "I nearly forgot, but choosing one stance over another means that you would be severely lacking in either offence or defence. Having a partner in a fight would be extremely beneficial, as you would be able to make up for each other's weakness. One could use an offensive stance while the other uses a defensive stance."
You stand up, smiling.
"It's funny how you say that", you say.
"What do you mean?", Daisy replies.
"Aha", you say, "just watch and find out."
You begin weaving hand signs then say, "Shadow clone jutsu!"
*POOF*. Out of nowhere, white smoke engulfs the room, momentarily blinding Daisy.
The smoke begins to disappear, and Daisy begins to regain her vision.
"What was that!", she says, "now you've disturbed my le-".
Daisy's jaw drops as she sees 2 yous standing in front of her. She rubs her eyes then looks again, but nothing changes.
"H-h-how?", she says in astonishment and confusion. "W-w-what!? T-t-there's t-t-two of y-you. I thought you had f-fire magic."
Both you and your clone begin to laugh which only freaks Daisy out more.
She walks up to the two of you and punches you both in your gut.
"This one feels a little softer", she says pointing at your clone. "But it's definitely no afterimage. It's solid. How'd you pull that off?"
Both you and your clone hold your stomach in pain, still not understanding how a little girl like her could be that strong.
"I-it's magic", you reply.
"M-magic?", Daisy says. "I thought you had fire magic."
"It appears I have two types of magic", you reply.
"Two types?", Daisy says. "Is that even possible?"
"I guess so", you reply.
"What would you even call that other magic, cloning magic?", she questions.
Both you and your clone ponder for a while, then say in sync, "Not a bad name!"
"Well anyways", Daisy says, "having a clone would be like a dream come true for a swordsmen. You could both have each other's backs. It removes the one weakness that nearly every swordsman suffers from!"
Daisy's eyes' begin to sparkle as she thinks of the many different things you could do.
"Aren't you getting too excited?", you ask.
"Any seasoned swordsman like myself would get excited", she replies. "You don't understand how beneficial that clone is. If trained well enough, you could practically be unstoppable."
Unstoppable? You liked the sound of that.
"Well then", you say. "How about a friendly spar?"
"Oho!", Daisy retorts. "Looks like someone is getting too full of themselves."
Daisy grabs three wooden swords, giving one to both you and your clone, and keeping one for herself.
"Whenever you're ready", Daisy says.
Today was the day you were going to beat Daisy. After only being her student for a couple days, it seems like the student will finally surpass the master.
You and your clone look at each other, then look back at Daisy with a smile. You already knew what your clone was thinking - this was gonna be a walk in a park.
Both you and your clone take a defensive stance and wait for Daisy to make the first move. Daisy raises an eyebrow to this, expecting you to attack head-on, now that you had your clone to back you.
"Looks like I gotta take this a little more seriously", Daisy says.
Daisy suddenly disappears from you and your clone's vision.
She then reappears in front of you and swings her sword into your side, sending you flying into the wall by the entrance.
Your clone instantly reacts to this by swinging his sword towards Daisy's face, scratching her with the tip of his sword. Daisy jumps back then rubs her face.
"Not bad", she says.
You recover from your injury and pair back up with your clone. This time, the two of you were going to attack.
Your clone stands right in front of you, making it look like there was only one of you. The two of you then begin to run towards Daisy, maintaining the same formation.
Your clone vertically swings his sword at Daisy, which she easily blocks. You emerge from behind your clone and swing your sword towards her side, in which she flips over the attack, causing you to hit your clone.
She then rushes towards you, drawing her sword backwards, then unleashing the attack - purposely aiming at your sword.
You knew that she was trying to knock your sword out of your hands, so you made sure to hold your sword tightly.
Her sword hits your sword at strengths you couldn't even begin to comprehend. Your whole body begins to violently vibrate, causing you to drop your sword in pain and fall your your knees.
"Stand up!", your clone screams as he dashes towards Daisy.
You look over to your clone to see him clashing with Daisy. You slap your cheeks then stand up, picking your sword up once again.
You run towards Daisy and interrupt her fight with your clone. In synchrony with your clone, the two of you dash towards Daisy and deliver an onslaught of slashes - each one being carefully calculated and executed.
Somehow, Daisy was able to block each and every slash. This meant that she was moving her arms at least twice as fast as you and your clone's.
Daisy soon begins to increase the speed of her arms, not only blocking your attacks, but also counterattacking here and there too. She was slowly but surely beginning to overwhelm both you and your clone, and that wasn't good.
"Your just a clone, right?", Daisy asks your clone, while still fighting.
Your clone gulps, not giving an answer.
Daisy pushes both you and your clone back with a single slash, then dashes towards your clone.
Without hesitation, she thrusts her sword right in the middle of your clone's chest. You watch in horror as you see this. Your clone drops it's sword then looks at you as it begins to shake.
You cover your mouth in disgust, ready to throw up before *POOF*. The same white smoke which appeared before, covers the entire hall. The smoke soon disappears, and your clone was nowhere to be seen.
You began putting the pieces together.
"I see", you say to yourself. "It disappears after it receives a certain amount of da-"
*BONK!*
Daisy smacks the top of your head with her sword, knocking you clean out once again.
...
2 hours pass, and you finally wake up. You look around and realise that you're still inside the training hall. You sit up and see Daisy who is currently meditating. You feel a sudden burst of pain emanate from the top of your head which causes you to clutch it in pain.
"Why do you always have to knock me out?", you ask Daisy.
Daisy opens one eye and looks at you.
"It helps make the fighting experience more realistic", she replies. "Plus I just enjoy doing it."
You stand up.
"Anyways", you say, "how could you stab my clone like that without any hesitation. I felt every drop of fear right before you did it."
"It was only a clone, right", Daisy replies. "I'm pretty sure everything would have been fine."
"And what if something went wrong and wasn't all fine?", you ask.
"Guess we'll never know", Daisy answers.
You stand there for a while, amazed at how nonchalant she can be at everything.
Daisy stands up and begins to walk towards the exit of the hall.
"Hey", Daisy says, "I've got to patrol the capital today. Wanna come with?"
"Yeah, sure", you reply. "Anything was better than staying at headquarters all day and doing nothing."
"Alright then", Daisy says. "Meet me at the front of headquarters in 5."
Daisy leaves the hall to go get ready, and you do the same.
You quickly rush to your room and grab your sword and picture book, before making your way back downstairs again. On your way, you bump into Sol again, who asks where you're going.
"Oh", you say, "Daisy invited me to go patrol the capital with h-"
"I'm coming too!", Sol interrupts.
Both you and Sol stand there awkwardly in silence.
"What!?", Sol asks. "You don't want me around or something?"
"No no", you reply, "I was just surprised that you wanted to come along."
Sol lets out a huge sigh of relief then says, "Well I don't have anything else to do, so why n-"
"Hey!", Daisy screams from the front door. "What's taking you so long, Y/N?"
"Oh, my bad", you reply. "I'm on my way now."
Both you and Sol make your way to the front door.
"Why's she here?", Daisy asks.
"She said she wanted to come with us for patrol", you reply.
Daisy looks at Sol then says, "Fine. But your getting there on your own."
"Wait", Sol replies. "Aren't we taking a carriage or broom."
Daisy laughs and says, "That's not how we do things, right Y/N?"
No. No. No. There was no way she was expecting you to jog to the capital again, right?
Daisy squats down and prompts you to get on her back.
Wait? She was the one giving the piggy back this time? Would someone of her size even be able to carry someone your size?
"Erm", you say. "Are you sure you can even li-"
"Get on now!", Daisy interrupts.
You gulp as you hear this.
"Well then", you say, "I'm getting on."
You get on her back and she scoops your legs up. She then stands up, adjusting your positioning on her back - the same way she made you do it.
You couldn't believe your eyes. Just how was she carrying you on her back? You were nearly double her size.
Daisy then shows you the time on her watch. It was 9 :15 Am. She tells you to remember this time for when you arrive at the capital.
Daisy begins her jog and miraculously, you weren't bouncing, nor were your legs being held too tightly.
"H-hey!", Sol shouts, "wait for me!"
Sol hops onto her broom and begins to fly after you two. It doesn't take long before she catches up to you.
Sol was now flying right beside Daisy, questioning why you guys would travel like that. Daisy tells her that it is part of her personal training, and that she hasn't carried someone your size in ages. Just what monstrous strength did she possess?
...
About an hour had passed since you had left headquarters, and Daisy had yet to show any signs of slowing down. The three of you were nearly at the capital, something which took you nearly three times the time it took Daisy.
It wasn't long until the three of you had made it to the capital.
You get off Daisy's back. She then shows you her watch, and to your surprise, it was only 10:25, meaning it had only taken her 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Surely she wasn't a 13 year old girl. Maybe a man in disguise?
"What are you looking so surprised for?", Daisy asks, breathing heavily and sweating.
"No way she just asked that", you say to yourself.
You look over at Sol to see if she shared the same surprise as you, but she didn't. You figured it was probably because she had never jogged such a distance with someone on her back before.
Daisy begins to stretch her arms and legs, saying that she'd been slacking off on her training for the last couple of months, and that if she hadn't, she could have made it to the capital in under an hour. Show off, right?
"So", you say, "what exactly do we do on patrol?"
"Well", Sol replies, "it's the job of the magic knights to help maintain peace and order throughout the country. Regular patrolling is one of the best ways to do it."
"Ok?", you reply. "But you still haven't told me what we'll actually be doing."
"Oh, my bad", Sol says. "All we have to do is observe our designated area and make sure nothing bad is happening. If something bad is happening, it's up to the magic knight to make their decision on the best possible way to resolve the issue."
"Ah I see", you reply.
Daisy looks at you with a stupid expression and says, "you've been a magic knight for nearly a week now, and you didn't know what a patrol was?"
You stay quiet as you couldn't deny what she was saying. Instead, you ask where you were going to start. Daisy announces that she will patrol the North and West side of the capital. She then instructs you to patrol the South side and Sol to patrol the East side. Both you and Sol accept your orders and head off to your assigned part of the Capital.
You arrive at the South side of the Capital. You look around and everything seems to be in order. You continue to look around until you spot a familiar face. It was Yuno, who seemed to be accompanied by two of his teammates - a boy and a girl.
You run over towards him and meet up with him.
"Ah, here's one of my brothers I was talking about the other day", Yuno says to his teammates.
"Is that any way to greet your your bro?", you ask.
"I could say the same to you", Yuno replies.
The two of you stay silent for a while, leaving Yuno's squad mates to stand there feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
Yuno then raises his fist and you do the same. You both fist bump each other.
"I guess it's been some time, Y/N", Yuno says.
"Yeah, right back you", you reply.
Yuno turns towards his teammates and introduces you.
"Mimosa, Klaus", Yuno says, "this is my brother,
Y/N."
The boy, Klaus steps up and shakes your hand, telling you it is a pleasure to meet you.
The girl, Mimosa, steps up to shake your hand after Klaus does, also saying that it is a pleasure to meet you.
"Now that introductions are over", Yuno says, "I'd like to know why you're here."
"I'm patrolling the area", you reply.
"I see", Yuno says. "We were also doing the same."
"Erm", Mimosa interjects, "how about Y/N join us as we finish our patrol."
Yuno looks at you, asking if you would like to join them.
"Sure, why not", you reply. "The more the merrier."